Crime

Will Oakland get federal rescue dollars for anti-violence measures?

City officials and community leaders want to pump newly available federal money into addressing the gun violence that has claimed more than 100 lives this year and the health inequities that enabled COVID-19 to devastate communities of color.  Both Oakland and Alameda County declared gun violence a public health crisis in the hopes of speeding up the process of securing money from the American Rescue Plan, which passed in March. But the money is still tied up in red tape…

Pepper spray and alarms: Chinatown clinic teaches personal safety

Chinatown residents are concerned for their safety after instances of assault and robbery against seniors. The Oakland Chinatown Safety Committee hosted a personal safety and pepper spray clinic to train community members on how to be more aware of their surroundings and defend themselves.

Oakland Zoo asks people to drop off ivory, other items made from illegal animal trade

When Ting Ting the sun bear arrived at the Oakland Zoo in 2006, she had a spacious field to explore. But Ting Ting confined herself to a raised wooden plank. Ting Ting, rescued from the illegal wildlife trade where she was sold as a pet, was previously kept in a small cage where she could walk only a few steps back and forth. In her first months at the Oakland Zoo, she maintained the same pacing pattern. The Oakland Zoo…

VIDEO: Assaulted Chinatown Chamber president resolves to protect Asian community

The president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, who has spoken out against Anti-Asian hate crime, was recently attacked as he was on his way to visit another Asian assault victim.  Carl Chan said he was walking on Broadway near Eighth Street on the afternoon of April 28 when someone hit him in the back of the head while spewing racial slurs. Chan was knocked to the ground and briefly blacked out, but got up and was able to…

Oakland Police Department renews contract with controversial forensic data company

Last Tuesday, Oakland City Council renewed the Police Department’s contract with the cloud-based software company Forensic Logic for use of its data-sharing platform COPLINK. COPLINK, which has been used by OPD since 2012, allows officers to search and analyze data shared by “several thousand law enforcement agencies across the United States.”  The contract costs the city a total of $704,000 over a three-year period. The resolution passed 7-0. Councilmember Nikki Fortunato-Bas (District 2) abstained from voting citing concerns over third-party…

Voting rights restored for Californians on parole

After over four decades of disenfranchisement, Californians on parole now have the right to vote. Because the U.S. invests heavily in mass incarceration, the number of people who have lost their right to vote because of their parole status has risen from 1.7 million Americans in 1976 to 6.1 million in 2016. This act would start to reverse those numbers.  In Alameda County, an overwhelming majority of residents voted to make this possible. 74% of the population voted to restore…